Variety was the spice of John D. McBride’s professional life. After attending the University of Wichita for two years, he transferred to the University of Kansas, from which he received both bachelor’s and law degrees.
He served in the U.S. Air Force in the office of the Judge Advocate General, stationed at Portsmouth, N.H., for two years, before returning to his hometown of Wichita to practice law, first with the firm of Martin & Pope and then with White & Fry.
McBride then changed his career track and returned to school to study anthropology, earning a doctorate at Southern Illinois. A cultural anthropologist with interests in linguistics, he began teaching at Wichita State in 1965, developing a reputation as a compelling, entertaining and popular classroom lecturer – and not only in the academic discipline of anthropology.
Later on, he also taught business classes at WSU, retiring as associate professor emeritus of finance, real estate, and decision sciences. An avid sports fan, especially of the Wichita State Shockers, McBride enjoyed playing tennis. His wife Flavia ’94, who died in 2014, shared her husband’s love of the Shockers, but preferred swimming over tennis.
In recognition of Flavia’s love of swimming and their enjoyment of campus life at Wichita State, the McBrides created the Flavia and John McBride WSU Heskett Center Education Fund. The fund focuses on training future lifeguards and teaching adults to swim.
John McBride died Dec. 30, 2016 in Wichita.
